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The European Astronaut Corps is the group of astronauts of European Space Agency. The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member There are currently eight active members of the Corps, all men. The European Astronaut Corps is based at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. The European Astronaut Centre (EAC is a centre of the European Space Agency and home of the European Astronaut Corps. They can be assigned to various projects both in Europe (at ESTEC, for instance) or elsewhere in the world, at NASA Johnson Space Center or Star City. The European Space Research and Technology Centre ( ESTEC) is the European Space Agency 's main technology development and test centre for spacecraft and space The Lyndon B Johnson Space Flight Center ( "JSFC") is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 's center for Star City (Звёздный городок Zvyozdny Gorodok) is a military research and training facility near

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Current members

Image:ESAastronauts.jpg
ESA astronauts in 2004

There are eight astronauts in the corps.

All members of the corps have flown in space. Hans Wilhelm Schlegel ( Überlingen, 3 August 1951 is a German physicist an ESA Astronaut, and a veteran of two NASA Space Shuttle Paolo Angelo Nespoli (Giussano Brianza April 6, 1957) is an Italian Astronaut. Roberto Vittori ( Viterbo, October 15, 1964) is an ESA and Italian Astronaut. Jean-François André Clervoy (born 19 November 1958 is a French Spationaut and a veteran of three NASA Space shuttle missions Léopold Eyharts is a Brigadier General in the French Air Force and is an ESA Spationaut. Frank Viscount De Winne (born April 25, 1961 in Ledeberg, Belgium) is a Belgian Air Component officer and an ESA Arne Christer Fuglesang (born March 18, 1957) is a Swedish Physicist and an ESA Astronaut. André Kuipers (born October 5, 1958) is a Dutch Physician and ESA Astronaut. The last one to do so was Paolo Nespoli who was assigned to Space Shuttle mission STS-120, which was launched in October 2007. STS-120 was a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS that launched on October 23, 2007 from the Kennedy Space Center All members, except Jean-François Clervoy, have visited the ISS.

Eyharts is the member of the Corps who has spent the most time in space, more than 69 days, the European record belonging to former German astronaut Thomas Reiter with 350 days.

The youngest member of the corps is Roberto Vittori, born in 1964, while the oldest is Hans Schlegel, born in 1951. The Corps currently includes no woman, being an all white males group. Only two women have been members of the corps. Marianne Merchez who never flew, and Claudie Haigneré who resigned after two flights to start a political career in France. Marianne Merchez (b November 25, 1960 in Uccle) is a former Belgian European Space Agency astronaut who has the dubious honour to be the Claudie Haigneré (formerly Claudie André-Deshays; born 13 May 1957) is a French doctor politician and former Cosmonaut with the The only minority participation is that Léopold Eyharts belongs to the Basque ethnic group in France. Léopold Eyharts is a Brigadier General in the French Air Force and is an ESA Spationaut. The Basques (Euskaldunak are a people who inhabit a region spanning over parts of north-central Spain and southwestern France.

Future of the European Astronaut Corps

Selection of new astronauts

According to French weekly Air & Cosmos, only six astronauts (Fuglesang, Schlegel, Nespoli, Eyharts, De Winne and Kuipers) remain available for immediate flight. Vittori and Clervoy are on temporary leave or assigned to other duties. The head of human spaceflight at ESA recommended that at least four more astronauts (plus four other in reserve) should be added after the launch of Columbus in February 2008.

On April 3, 2008, ESA director general Jean-Jacques Dordain announced that recruiting for a new class of European astronauts will start in the near future. Events 1043 - Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Jean-Jacques Dordain (b April 14, 1946) is the current Director General of the European Space Agency and has held the position since 2003 [1]. The selection program was launched on May 19, 2008 with applications due by 16 June 2008. Events 1535 - French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships 110 men and 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common [2]. Interested candidates can apply through the ESA website. [3]

After the ISS

The funding by NASA of the International Space Station is scheduled to end in 2015. The role and activities of European astronauts beyond this date, and in particular their involvement in the Vision for Space Exploration, including missions to the Lunar outpost, is unclear. The Vision for Space Exploration is the United States space policy announced on January 14, 2004 by U The Lunar outpost will be an inhabited facility on the surface of the Moon which NASA currently plans to construct over the five years between 2019

Former members

There are fourteen former astronauts of the ESA [1]

* No space missions


Non ESA European Astronauts

Warsaw Pact Astronauts

Western Europe Astronauts

Shuttle missions

Astronauts from the European Astronaut Corps have participated to various missions before the ISS era, in particular in the frame of Spacelab, as Payload Specialists. Maurizio Cheli (born 4 May 1959) is an Italian air force officer an ESA Astronaut and a veteran of one NASA Space Pedro Duque Duque (born 14 March 1963) is a Spanish Astronaut and a veteran of two space missions Reinhold Ewald (born December 18 1956) is a German physicist and ESA Astronaut. Umberto Guidoni (born in Rome, 18 August 1954) is an Italian politician and a former ESA Astronaut. Claudie Haigneré (formerly Claudie André-Deshays; born 13 May 1957) is a French doctor politician and former Cosmonaut with the Jean-Pierre Haigneré (born 19 May 1948) is a French Air Force officer and a CNES Spationaut. Ulf Dietrich Merbold (born June 20, 1941) is the first West German and second German Astronaut as well as the first ESA Marianne Merchez (b November 25, 1960 in Uccle) is a former Belgian European Space Agency astronaut who has the dubious honour to be the Claude Nicollier (born September 2, 1944 in Vevey, Switzerland) is the first Astronaut from Switzerland and has flown Wubbo Johannes Ockels is a Dutch Physicist and Astronaut. In 1985 he participated in a flight of the space shuttle, making him the first and Philippe Perrin ( Colonel, French Air Force) is a French Test pilot and former CNES and European Space Agency Spationaut Thomas Arthur Reiter (born May 23 1958 in Frankfurt, Germany) is a retired European Astronaut and is a Colonel Michel Ange-Charles Tognini of the French Air Force (born September 30, 1949, in Vincennes France) is a French Test pilot Gerhard Paul Julius Thiele (born September 2, 1953) is a former German Astronaut. Aleksandar Panayotov Aleksandrov (Александър Панайотов Александров (born December 1, 1951, Omurtag, Bulgaria) Georgi Ivanov (Георги Иванов (born Georgi Kakalov, born July 2, 1940) was the first Bulgarian in space Mirosław Hermaszewski (born September 15, 1941) is a retired Polish Air Force officer Dr Sigmund Werner Paul Jähn (born February 13, 1937) was the first German Cosmonaut. Vladimír Remek (born 26 September 1948) is the first Czechoslovak in space (son of Czech mother and Slovak father and the first Cosmonaut Anatoly Yakovlevich Solovyev ( Russian: Анатолий Яковлевич Соловьёв born January 16, 1948, in Riga - alternate Bertalan Farkas (in Hungarian Farkas Bertalan (born August 2, 1949) was the first Hungarian Cosmonaut and the first Esperantist Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu (duˈmitru doˈrin pruˈnarju born September 27 1952) is a Romanian Cosmonaut. Klaus-Dietrich Flade (born August 23 1952) is a German pilot and former German Aerospace Center Astronaut. Reinhard Alfred Furrer ( November 25, 1940 – September 9, 1995) was a German scientist and Astronaut. Ernst Willi Messerschmid (born May 21, 1945) is a German physicist and former astronaut Ulrich Hans Walter (born February 9, 1954) is a German Physicist / Engineer and a former DFVLR Astronaut. Patrick Pierre Roger Baudry (born March 6, 1946 in Cameroon, then a French colony is a retired Lieutenant Colonel French Air Force and was Jean-Jacques Favier (Born April 13, 1949) is a French Engineer and CNES Spationaut. Franco Egidio Malerba (PhD (born October 10, 1946, in Busalla Genoa, Liguria, Italy) is an Italian Astronaut Dirk Dries David Damiaan Viscount Frimout (born March 21, 1941 in Poperinge, Belgium) is an Astrophysicist for the ESA Franz Artur Viehböck (born August 24 1960 in Vienna) is an Austrian electrical engineer, and was Austria's first Astronaut Ivan Bella (b 25 May[[ 964]] Brezno, Czechoslovakia (present Slovakia) is a Slovak cosmonaut Helen Patricia Sharman, OBE, (born 30 May 1963) is a British chemist Jean-Loup Jacques Marie Chrétien, is a retired Général de Brigade (brigadier general of the Armée de l'Air (French air force and a former In NASA vernacular a Payload Specialist (PS was an individual selected and trained by commercial or research organizations for flights of a specific payload on a


As Payload Specialists

As Mission Specialists

Missions on space stations

Mir visits

Astronauts from the European astronaut Corps have also flown to Mir both on board Soyuz vehicles or on board the Space Shuttle. STS-9 (also known as STS-41A (Spacelab 1 was the 6th mission of the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' It was Columbia's last flight until early January of 1986 Spacelab was a reusable laboratory flown into space on the Space Shuttle. STS-42 was a Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' mission with the Spacelab module STS-61-A was the 22nd Space Shuttle mission It was a scientific Spacelab mission booked by Germany - hence the payload name D-1 (for Deutschland 1 STS-46 was a NASA Space shuttle mission launched in 1992 Crew Loren J STS-61 was the first Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. STS-75 was a United States Space Shuttle mission the 19th mission of the ''Columbia'' orbiter STS-103 was a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission by Space Shuttle ''Discovery''. STS-75 was a United States Space Shuttle mission the 19th mission of the ''Columbia'' orbiter STS-66 is a Space Shuttle program mission Crew Donald R McMonagle (3 Commander Curtis L STS-84 was a Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' mission to the Mir space station STS-99 was a Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'' mission that launched on February 11, 2000 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida STS-95 was a mission of the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' that launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 29 1998 Mir (Мир which can mean both Peace and World, and was the name given to peasant communes in pre-revolutionary Russia was a Soviet (and


ISS visits

ESA astronauts to have visited the ISS are:

Upcoming missions

Crew members

Back-up crew members

References

  1. ^ Spaceflight Now | ATV Mission Report | Europe's new cargo freighter safely docks to space station
  2. ^ http://www.esa.int/hr/PDF/VN_ESOC_2008_014.pdf
  3. ^ http://www.esa.int/astronautselection
STS-116 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS flown by Space Shuttle '' Discovery''. STS-120 was a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS that launched on October 23, 2007 from the Kennedy Space Center STS-122 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS flown by the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. STS-122 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS flown by the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. Expedition 16 was the 16th expedition to the International Space Station (ISS Expedition 19 is the 19th long duration flight to the International Space Station. Expedition 21 will be the 21st long-crew-flight of the International Space Station ( ISS) Expedition 19 is the 19th long duration flight to the International Space Station.
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